Fall Recipes Using Pumpkin For Halloween

Halloween is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries which falls on October 31. Although we don't really celebrate Halloween through the traditional trick-or-treat party but for the past three years I have being sharing some Halloween Themed Recipes during this time of the year. For this year instead of the usual savory dishes I decided to bake some sweet treats (cakes) for our afternoon tea.

And since Pumpkin is one of the most common ingredients for Fall recipes, I decided to use it to make my favourite Pumpkin Cheesecake (mini version) and Pumpkin Chia Seeds Chiffon Cake.

Lemon Butter Cake With Chia Seeds & Pistachio Nuts

This Lunar New Year, I have come up with 2 similar cakes using orange and lemon rinds plus Chia Seeds to enhance the taste of the cakes. And for festive flavour, I also used dried longan (龙眼) which represent "many good son" and pistachio nuts (开心果) which is often given as a gift to symbolize health, happiness and good fortune.

Longan And Cranberry Yogurt Cake

Chinese New Year (CNY) usually cannot go without some auspicious cakes like Kueh Lapis Legit (千层糕), Kueh Baulu ((鸡蛋糕), Walnut Cake and etc. This year, I have come up with a something new apart from the usual CNY cake using "orange zest, dried longan, cranberry, chia seeds, yogurt and Cointreau" to bake this Longan And Cranberry Yogurt Cake for Chinese New Year.

Pumpkin Granola Bar

My family loves granola and our my favourite granola supply come from "maameemoomoo" who always surprise us with her innovative flavoured granola like honey, pumpkin and chocolate. And since we have missed out Sherie's pumpkin granola during Halloween orders, I decided to try making something similar to satisfy our craving. So with a twist and some research which I Google, I manage to bake some decent Pumpkin Granola Bar instead.

Although my granola bar might not taste as good as Sheri's but at least I happy with the end result and also it's a challenge for me to bake something with such a long ingredients list too.

Apple, Oat And Walnut Crumble Slice

Apples are beautiful fruits that can be used in both dishes and bakes. For our family, I often use it to make Apple Tea or Double-boiled Apple With Gingko Nut and you could read more on my collection of apple recipes(here). In order to show my support for Bosch "Apple-tizing" Health Recipe Contest 2012, I decided to make this health Apple, Oat & Walnut Crumble Slice with added Chia seeds which is an amazing ingredient that loaded with lots of health benefits.

Following the successful debut of the Bosch cooking contest in 2011(read more here), this year they are having Bosch ‘Apple-tizing’ Cooking Contest 2012 which is open for entries till 31 October 2012.

To particular, you must own either a Bosch Kitchen Machines or Food Processors in order to submit a healthy recipe using APPLES (submit via Bosch Singapore website here). After which the six best entries will be shortlisted to compete in a cook-off contest on 22 December 2012 using their own Bosch appliance.

So if you have either one of the mentioned Bosch appliance(s) maybe you could consider to send in your "secret recipe" featuring Apples and your Bosch appliance. For your information, Grand prize winner gets "A pair of economy tickets to Germany (plus $1,000 allowance)".

APPLE, OAT AND WALNUT CRUMBLE SLICE

Here for my buttery pastry I have added some cinnamon powder instead of mixed spice and as for the filling I choose Granny Smith Apples and golden rinse to balance the sweet and sour taste. And to create a crunchy texture with healthier toppings, I choose Organic Rolled Oats, Walnuts and Chia Seeds to go with the buttery crumbs. 

(Make: 16 x 26cm pan | Preparation: 15 minutes | Baking: 20 minutes + 35 minutes)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups (340g) All Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup (60g) Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon Powder/Mixed Spice, optimal
180g Unsalted Butter, chopped
2 Tablespoons Ice Water

Apple Mixture:
4 - 5 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, diced
1 Tablespoon Caster Sugar
Rind of 1 Lemon, optional
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1/3 Cup (60g) Golden Raisin
1/3 Cup (35g) Rolled Oats
1/3 Cup (45g) Walnut Nuts, chopped
2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds, optional

Method:-
1. Preheat oven to 180°C (degree Celsius). Grease a 3cm deep, 16cm x 26cm brownie pan and line it with baking paper, allowing 2cm overhang on all sides.

2. Process flour, brown sugar, butter and spice(if using) in Bosch MCM 4 food processor until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

3. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons chilled water and process until mixture just comes together to form a dough (adding more water if required).

4. Wrap 3/4 cup dough in cling wrap and refrigerate until firm. Press remaining dough using fingers tips or spatula evenly into the tin and bake it in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until pastry turns golden in colour. Remove and set aside to cool.

5. Next add apples, caster sugar, lemon rind and juice in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar has dissolved.

6. Increase heat to medium-low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes or until apple is soft. Allow mixture to cool completely before stirring in raisin.

7. Spoon apple mixture over pastry base. Coarsely grate chilled dough into a bowl with rolled oat, walnut and chai seeds mixture then gently stir to combine.

8. Sprinkle dough mixture over apple mixture. Bake in 180°C (degree Celsius) for 35 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool completely in pan before sliced.

Baking is like doing science where we tends to experiment with different recipes and ingredients in our pantry. So according to your preference, you may choose to replace walnut with almond or chia seeds with black sesame seeds or anything that is available in your pantry.

Actually Apple Crumble is not difficult to make, and you could even prepare the pastry dough or apple filling a head ahead. You could serve your Apple Crumble wither hot or cold with ice cream, cream or custard. Love mine with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream!

Below are some recipes that I have tried using BOSCH MCM 4100 food processor.

ABC Detox Juice	Lemon Berry Tarts	Baked Lemon Cheesecake